The band grew out of an earlier skiffle group formed by McNally, with his friends Brian Dolan (guitar) and Tony West (bass). When the other two members lost interst McNally was joined by his guitarist neighbour Mike Prendergast. They soon recruited Tony Jackson with his home-made bass guitar and amplifier and styled themselves Tony and the Searchers with Joe Kelly on drums. Kelly soon left to be replaced by Norman McGarry and it is this line-up—McNally, Pender (as he soon became known), Jackson and McGarry—that is usually cited as the original foursome.
McGarry did not stay long, however, and in 1960 his place was taken by Chris Crummey (who later changed his name to Curtis). Later that year Big Ron had a successful audition with Mecca and became a ballroom singer. He was replaced by Billy Beck, who changed his name to Johnny Sandon. The band had regular bookings at Liverpool's Iron Door Club as Johnny Sandon and the Searchers.
Sandon left the band in late 1961 to join The Remo Four in February 1962. The group settled into a quartet sharing the vocal lead and billed simply as The Searchers. They continued to play at the Iron Door, The Cavern, and other Liverpool clubs. Like many similar acts they would do as many as three shows at different venues in one night. They negotiated a contract with the Star-Club in the St. Pauli district Hamburg for 128 days, with three one-hour performances a night, starting in July 1962.
The band returned to a residence, at the Iron Door Club and it was there that they tape recorded the sessions that led to a recording contract with Pye Records with Tony Hatch as producer.
Hatch played piano on some recordings and wrote "Sugar and Spice"—the band’s second number one record—under the pseudonym Fred Nightingale; a secret he kept from the band at the time.
After scoring their monumental hit "Needles and Pins", bassist Tony Jackson went solo and was replaced by Hamburg pal Frank Allen of Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers.
Chris Curtis left the band in 1966 and was replaced by the Needles and Pins-influenced John Blunt, who in turn was replaced by Billy Adamson in 1970.
As musical styles evolved, the Searchers could not keep up and as a result, the hits ran out and while they continued to record for Liberty Records and RCA Records, ended up on the British "Chicken in a Basket" circuit although they did score a minor US hit in 1971 with "Desdemona".
The group continued to tour through the 1970s and were rewarded in 1979 when Sire Records signed the band to a multi-record deal. Two albums were released by them, The Searchers and Play for Today (retitled Love's Melodies outside the UK). Both records garnered great critical acclaim but did not break into the charts. They did however revitalize the group's career. According to John McNally, the band were ready to head into the studio to record a third album for Sire when they were informed that due to label reorganization, their contract had been dropped.
In 1981, the band signed to PRT Records (formerly Pye, their original label) and began recording an album but only one single, "I Don't Want To Be The One" backed with "Hollywood", saw the light of day at that time. The rest of the tracks would be released as part of 2004's 40th Anniversary collection.
Soon after the PRT release, Mike Pender left the group amidst great acrimony and now tours as Hollywood. McNally and Allan recruited former First Class vocalist Spencer James to fill Pender's shoes.
In 1988, Coconut Records signed The Searchers and the album Hungry Hearts was the result. A very contemporary sounding release, it featured modern sounding remakes of "Needles and Pins" and "Sweets For My Sweets". While the album was not a major hit, it did keep the group in the public eye.
The band continues to tour with Eddie Rothe replacing Adamson on drums and is considered to be one of the most popular 1960s bands on the UK concert circuit.
for more info see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Searchers_%28band%29
A Tear Fell
The Searchers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A tear fell when I saw you in the arms of someone new
A tear fell when you left me all alone and feeling blue
A tear fell when you told me that your love was not for me
Oh, I didn't miss the teardrops but I missed you constantly
A fool am I, a fool am I, in love
The teardrops that you stepped on as you danced across the floor
Were crushed like my poor heart was when you walked out of the door
A tear fell when you told me that the flame in your heart died
Darlin', have I lost you like these teardrops from my eyes?
A fool am I, a fool am I in love
A tear fell when you told me that your love was not for me
Oh, I didn't miss the teardrops but I missed you constantly
A fool am I, a fool am I, in love
These lyrics describe the unrequited love of the singer for the person they are addressing. The tear that fell from the singer's eyes represents the heartbreak of seeing the person they love with someone else. The singer admits that they are a fool for being in love with someone who does not love them back, shown in the repetition of the phrase "a fool am I." The imagery of the teardrops being stepped on like the singer's heart is a metaphor for the pain and disappointment they feel.
The lyrics continue to describe the moments when the singer's tears fell, such as when the person they love left them feeling alone and blue, and when they were told that their love was not reciprocated. The singer laments that they didn't miss the teardrops, which suggests that their pain was not caused by the physical act of crying but by the loss of their love.
Overall, "A Tear Fell" is a classic example of a love song that deals with unrequited love and heartbreak. The repetition of the phrase "a fool am I" emphasizes the singer's vulnerability and the pain they feel, while the metaphor of the teardrops being stepped on highlights the singer's crushed hopes and dreams.
Line by Line Meaning
A fool am I, a fool am I, in love
I am foolish and naive when it comes to love
A tear fell when I saw you in the arms of someone new
I cried when I saw you with someone else
A tear fell when you left me all alone and feeling blue
I shed a tear when you abandoned me and left me sad
A tear fell when you told me that your love was not for me
I cried when you told me you didn't love me
Oh, I didn't miss the teardrops but I missed you constantly
I didn't miss the tears, but I missed you all the time
The teardrops that you stepped on as you danced across the floor
You unknowingly walked on my tears as you danced
Were crushed like my poor heart was when you walked out of the door
My heart was crushed just as my tears were under your feet when you left
A tear fell when you told me that the flame in your heart died
I cried when you said you no longer had feelings for me
Darlin', have I lost you like these teardrops from my eyes?
I wonder if I have lost you just as I have lost tears from crying
A fool am I, a fool am I in love
Once again, I am foolish and naive when it comes to love
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DORIAN BURTON, EUGENE RANDOLPH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind